Revision as of 14:37, 10 June 2016

Despite France developing some of the finest cuisine over hundreds of years of theistic culture, you will see below that French atheists did transfer this knowledge to their fellow atheists in other countries.

The Institute of Food Technologists defines food science as "the discipline in which the engineering, biological, and physical sciences are used to study the nature of foods, the causes of deterioration, the principles underlying food processing, and the improvement of foods for the consuming public".[3]

Question 1: Within the field of food science, how much experimentation is occurring within atheistic countries in order to improve the quality of their food in terms of making it less bland?

Question 2: Are there spices that have health benefits? Is putting spices on food in an intelligent manner a healthier lifestyle?

Atheistic cultures with bland food

Soviet Union and bland food

Many people in the Soviet Union have grown tired of institutionalized food in state-run cafeterias found at state-run cafeterias such as Stolovaya No. 22 and Stolovaya No. 23 where the menus seldom change and often lack variety. Most food in the Soviet Union is unimaginative, tasteless and bland.[4]

Atheistic Nordic countries and bland food

Nordic countries have high atheist/agnostic populations within them (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden).

Sweden is one of the most atheistic countries in the world and in secular Europe. The website adherents.com reported that in 2005 46 - 85% of Swedes were agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[7] Sweden also has the 3rd highest rate of belief in evolution as far as Western World nations.[8]

Denmark has the highest rate of belief in evolution in the Western World.[9] In addition, in 2005 Denmark was ranked the third most atheistic country in the world and the website adherents.com reported that in 2005 43 - 80% of Danes are agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[10]

Finland was ranked the 7th most atheistic country in the world in 2005.[11] Finland has the 17th highest rate of belief in evolution in the Western World.[12]

Iceland is one of the most irreligious countries in the world according to Gallup International.[13] A Gallup International poll conducted in 2012 reported that 57% of Icelanders considered themselves "a religious person", 31% considered themselves "a non religious person", while 10% defined themselves as "a convinced atheist", which places Iceland in the top 10 atheist populations in the world.[14]

A Eurobarometer poll in 2010 reported that 37% of UK citizens "believed there is a God", 33% believe there is "some sort of spirit or life force" and 25% answered "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[17] See also: British atheism

International food authority Andrew Zimmern said of Britain's food: “Twenty years ago the food of the British Isles was universally considered to be among the world’s worst—boring, bland and boiled.”[18]

(In the last 20 years, Britain has seen a large influx of immigrants many of whom eat spicier food. No doubt that is why Zimmern said "twenty years ago".)

Godless Germany and bland food

Germany is one of the most atheistic countries in the world and the website adherents.com reports that 41-49% of Germans are agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[19]

Germany is one of the most atheistic countries in the world and the website adherents.com reported that 41-49% of Germans are agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[20]

Parlour Magazine reported about German food:

“

From a young age the German palate is adapted to enjoy the simple flavors of salt, wurst (sausage) and breadcrumbs, shunning anything too sweet, too spicy or too complex.

...I do occasionally enjoy a bit of spice and this is the dilemma. I grew up in a West Indian household led by my grandfather who was a chef, to say I was spoiled in terms of flavorful food would be an understatement. The pepper, the curry, the jerk – all flavors that fueled my youth and make me feel at home. How I survive in Germany, the land of bland, is a mystery to most who know me.[21]

From a historical perspective, the Czechs have been characterised as "tolerant and even indifferent towards religion".[23] According to the 2011 census, 34.2% of the Czech population declared they had no religion, 10.3% was Roman Catholic and 10.2% followed other forms of religion both denominational and nondenominational. Furthermore, 45.2% of the population did not answer the question about religion.[24] From 1991 to 2001 and further to 2011 the adherence to Roman Catholicism decreased from 39.0% to 26.8% and then subsequently to 10.3%.[25]

Estonia is one of the least religious areas in the world. Merely 14% of the population declared religion an important part of their daily lives.[26]

The Guardian reported in 2012 about Eastern Germany:

“

A recent study called Beliefs About God Across Time and Countries found that 52.1% of people asked whether they believed in God identified themselves as atheists. This compared with only 10.3% in western Germany. Indeed, the survey was unable to find a single person under the age of 28 in eastern Germany who believed in God.[27]

”

The Maverick Traveler reports:

“

Eastern Europe isn’t known for its variety of exquisite dishes. Most of the dishes are a combination of three ingredients: bread, potatoes and meat. While it’s very hearty, it’s also very flavorless. If you’re there on a short trip or in the beginning of a more extended sojourn, you might find the food interesting and even exotic, but I can guarantee that you’ll quickly get tired of it.

Once you get tired of going out and eating bland local food, you’ll have two options: go to restaurants that serve international cuisine or cook your own food. The problem with the first option is that the international restaurant scene is rather limited in Eastern Europe.[28]

Jesus Christ ate a healthy and flavorful diet

What comes to mind with the word Mediterranean? Blue sparkling waters? Warm and friendly people? While a common association is the region’s popular travel destinations, the traditional eating patterns from this area of the world have also been long recognized for health benefits and enjoyable flavor profiles. (emphasis added via bolding)[29]

”

Christ And The Rich Young Ruler by Heinrich Hofmann (1824–1911), 1889.

If you're looking for a heart-healthy eating plan, the Mediterranean diet might be right for you. The Mediterranean diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating — plus a splash of flavorful olive oil and perhaps even a glass of red wine — among other components characterizing the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

Most healthy diets include fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains, and limit unhealthy fats. While these parts of a healthy diet remain tried-and-true, subtle variations or differences in proportions of certain foods may make a difference in your risk of heart disease.

Benefits of the Mediterranean diet

Research has shown that the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease. In fact, an analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer, as well as a reduced incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases...

The diet also recognizes the importance of being physically active, and enjoying meals with family and friends.[31]

”

In terms of physical activity, Jesus Christ worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty years old. Jesus had no electric power tools as carpenters do today, but worked with hand tools made of iron. Then for about three years, Jesus was an itinerant preacher.[32]

Chuck Norris: What would Jesus eat?

The Christian Chuck Norris wrote in his article entitled Chuck Norris asks, 'What would Jesus eat?':

“

In his excellent book “What Would Jesus Eat?” Dr. Don Colbert does a great job of explaining what the Master would have eaten and drank during his day.

Colbert told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “I thought I’d go back to the training manual – the Bible – and see what Jesus ate. Lo and behold, Jesus ate the healthiest diet ever developed, the Mediterranean diet.”[33]

”

Mosaic diet is a healthy diet in terms of weight management

For a large segment of their lives, the apostles of Jesus not only ate a Mediterranean diet, but ate according to the Mosaic dietary laws. The Mosaic dietary laws are in accordance with a healthy lifestyle in terms of weight management as evidenced by the fact that one looks at the pictures of modern Orthodox Jews, most have a healthy body weight (See: Google image search of the term "Orthodox Jews").

Explosive growth of Christianity in China and the Chinese preference for flavorful food

On November 1, 2014, an article in The Economist entitled Cracks in the atheist edifice declared:

“

Officials are untroubled by the clash between the city’s famously freewheeling capitalism and the Communist Party’s ideology, yet still see religion and its symbols as affronts to the party’s atheism...

Yang Fenggang of Purdue University, in Indiana, says the Christian church in China has grown by an average of 10% a year since 1980. He reckons that on current trends there will be 250m Christians by around 2030, making China’s Christian population the largest in the world. Mr. Yang says this speed of growth is similar to that seen in fourth-century Rome just before the conversion of Constantine, which paved the way for Christianity to become the religion of his empire.[37]

”

Chinese preference for flavorful food

Wendy Rotell reports at Restaurant.com: "In general, Westernized Chinese food is considered to be more bland and fattening than authentic Chinese food."[38]

The correction is clear

There you have it! A positive correlation between preference for non-blandness and people fleeing atheism at a rapid pace!

But is atheism bland and boring?

Atheism is bland and boring

Atheist Francois Tremblay wrote: "One last problem that undermines any propagation of atheism is inspiration. Let's be honest here, "there is no god!" is not a very motivating call for most people."[39]

Among the repulsions of atheism for me has been its drastic un-interestingness as an intellectual position. Where was the ingenuity, the ambiguity, the humanity...of saying that the universe just happened to happen and that when we're dead we're dead?".[43]

”

The British columnist Giles Coren wrote in The Times:

“

But it’s not the nihilism, the soullessness, the lack of poetry, the moral and physical ugliness, the shallow iconoclasm or the vainglory of atheists that bother me most. It’s the boringness.

Atheist Jerry Coyne said about atheist meetings: "But to me the speakers and talks have often seemed repetitive: the same crew of jet-set skeptics giving the same talks."[45] Coyne also said about the atheist meetings which he attended that quite a few of the talks were lame.[46]

...a religion is a philosophy that makes you dance. It pleased me because the book itself can be read as a history of how philosophy grew from dance...

There aren't any overwhelming and inspiring collective atheist rituals...

If I'm right, then liberal, individualistic atheism is impossible as an organising principle of society because any doctrine that actually works to hold society together is indistinguishable from a religion. It needs its rituals.[47]

”

China has the world's largest atheist population.[48][49] National Public Radio's article Chinese Turn To Religion To Fill A Spiritual Vacuum declares:

“

One young evangelical Christian missionary travels from rural village to village in the Protestant heartland in eastern China to proselytize. She attributed her own conversion to the overwhelming pressures of China's education system.

"In high school, I felt very depressed," said the bright-eyed young woman, who gave her name as Nicole. "I felt people had no direction, and I felt life was dry and boring. I felt the pressure of school was very high. God helped me and liberated me." [50]

But to me the speakers and talks have often seemed repetitive: the same crew of jet-set skeptics giving the same talks.

...a few things bothered me, most notably the air of self-congratulation (which I excused on the grounds of enthusiastic people finding like-minded folks for the first time), the “fanboyness” directed at some of the famous atheists (they hardly let poor Richard alone, and I’m not sure he liked that!), and the lameness of quite a few of the talks. Again, how much new can you say about atheism?[51]

21st century global desecularization and a worldwide, flavorful food revolution

Food science, like all science, is a social enterprise. And bland and boring cultures stifle innovation within science.

So how boring is atheism? Does bland and boring atheistic ideology foster the creation of atheistic food scientists who wear bland white lab coats and suppress the use of spices and other flavor enhancers in food production? On the other hand, are atheistic food scientists endeavoring to make food even more bland in atheistic societies because they know that atheists and boring and bland? In short, a classic case of giving the customer what he wants.

Are atheists in atheistic countries with bland food trapped in a bland food bubble or will religious immigrants, the religious having a higher fertility rate and the religious engaging in evangelism burst their bland food bubble?

Will global desecularization ignite a global, flavorful food revolution the likes of which the world has never seen?

Notes

Merriam-Webster dictionary: Atheism - a disbelief in the existence of deity; the doctrine that there is no deity. Origin of atheism: Middle French athéisme, from athée atheist, from Greek atheos godless, from a- + theos god[1]